An Errant Prince

Flight

"Layla fingered the hundred dollar bill Sam had given her, worrying her lower lip. "Listen, some bloke was here looking for your friend not long after we spoke." She looked sincere as she volunteered the information to Sam and Kash. "I told him you were looking for drugs." She looked apologetically at Kash. "I didn't know you were Royalty."

"Do you know who he was?" Meswari was more than alarmed at being tracked then disrespected. He wanted to stay at large, enjoying his new freedom.

Layla shrugged. "I know he wasn't a customer, and he wasn't in a uniform. He was official looking, but he didn't sound like he was from the Met."

"It was an agent of the Crown." Sam glanced at the young girl and smiled. "Your street smarts are good, Layla. I'm not surprised. In your line of business, your life depends on knowing how to read people."

"Former life," Kash said.

"Come on." Sam offered his arm to Layla. "We'll drop you off at the teen center and make sure you're properly settled before we leave."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the coach section of their plane, Kash was becoming increasingly alarmed watching the obviously disturbed couple a few seats ahead of them argue. He was distracted when a young boy started kicking the back of his seat. He glanced down the plane's aisle in search a flight attendant. He saw two stationed next to the front of the plane. When he caught the attractive women's attention, they glared at him and whispered together. Kash felt like he'd been slapped. Usually woman ran at his beck and call and flirted with him relentlessly.

"Where did you get my passport and fake ID?" He whispered to Sam, rubbing his hand over his jaw.

"One of my contacts from my days in Intelligence."

"The picture was not the most flattering. I feel like the flight crew is gossiping about me."

"You're a handsome, young man. I wouldn't be surprised."

No, not in that way." Kash wished he had access to some anti-psychotics. Going through withdrawals,  he felt paranoid. "I wish we'd asked Layla for a description of the man who was asking about me. What if he returns to harass her?"

"Don't worry, we left Layla in good hands. The people at Centre Point will house her until she gets back on her feet. No one's going to bother her."

"Do you think the man asking about me is part of British Intelligence?" Kash's paranoia made him wonder if he was mentally disturbed.

"I would be disappointed if he wasn't. Listen, you have to trust me. I have a plan. No one will lay a finger on you."

"Sam, why did you say I reminded you of Diana."

Johnson looked thoughtful for a moment. "Diana had something much worse than what you have. You only have a drug addiction. She was insecure. She needed constant attention to feel loved. Do you know she rang up one of her friend's home three hundred times on evening? Oliver Hoare. The Royals thought she was bonkers, but she was terribly lonely. It strikes that you're not really an addict. You're trying to fill some painful hole where your heart should be."

"His last name was Hoare, like a male whore?"

"Laugh if you want, but wasn't funny at the time."

~~~~~

After three hours, their tedious flight landed in Greece. It was after ten pm. Outside the airport, Kash looked up at the northern hemisphere. The Milky Way was visible in the southern half of the sky. For a moment, all the stars aligned and he saw a shimmering crown made of diamonds in the sky. When he blinked, the vision was gone.

"Do you know Greece is one of the best places in the world to photograph the galaxy?" Sam said cheerily. It's because the country's at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa."

"I've been here before, but I've never seen a sky look this beautiful." Something moved in Kash, sure he'd seen a sign.

Sam hailed a taxi which transported them out of the city. The cab travelled out of Athens and through dead end roads. Kash frowned as the area looked increasingly like a demolition project. The boarded-up windows, cracked paint and graffiti covered the buildings were enough to deter the most deviant criminals. Exhausted, he looked out the window at the desolate area. His hopes of a night in a decent bed were sinking. "What are we doing here, Samual? There aren't any decent hotels."

"If we want to find Diana then we have to evade the Crown." One of the warehouse garage doors opened and they drove into the building's darkened interior. Men with scraggly beards, and unfashionable long hair met the car. Sam rolled down the window and handed the vicious looking leader a packet of cash.

The criminals hands were filthy as he counted the bills and nodded. "Carry on with your party."